Westmed Medical Group has long been involved in not only the business of making people well, but also interacting with the communities it serves.
But the company ”” headquartered in Purchase, with 12 other locations throughout Westchester and Fairfield counties ”” has taken the latter a step further with the publication of its first Social Impact Report, designed to not only highlight its activities in that area in 2019 but also to outline what it hopes to achieve moving forward.
The report is focused on four key areas: community, people, environment and innovation.
“The industry has gotten so much more complex that it”™s no longer enough to focus solely on your delivery of care,” explained Westmed CEO Anthony Viceroy. “There was so much going on last year. We felt it was the right time to put all that information together ”” to talk about all of our business decisions.”
The most recent of those decisions, announced Jan. 28, is the formation of a strategic partnership with WW, formerly Weight Watchers. Westmed will be the exclusive medical group partner of the WW program in Fairfield, Westchester and Putnam counties for six months, with Westmed patients aged 18 and older offered the WW Digital Program at a discounted rate.
Westmed patients will have digital access to what WW is touting as its “most customized weight-loss plan ever,” myWW. Members take an evidence-based personal assessment that leverages details about food preferences and lifestyle and matches them to one of three comprehensive ways to follow the program.
Viceroy noted that almost 21% of the Westchester County population is at risk for or diagnosed with obesity, while one in three people in the U.S. struggles with maintaining a healthy blood pressure.
“The partnership is part of the robust strategy we are in the process of developing,” he continued. “We want to educate everyone about adopting healthy habits, and there are so many health problems that obesity can create. Oftentimes losing just 5% of your weight can make a big difference.”
Also falling under the “education” banner is Westmed MEDTalks, a series of free monthly community presentations featuring Westmed doctors at various Westmed offices and public facilities. Viceroy said similar presentations have been made in the past, but added, “This is connecting the dots, putting more thought into it and organizing it better.”
Topics can range from explaining Medicare and various diets to torn-from-the-headlines subjects like the coronavirus.
“So many patients already get newsletters that they”™re on overload,” Viceroy said. “This is a way of focusing in on and explaining a topic that people care about.”
The group ”” which consists of more than 500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 1,500 employees, caring for over 350,000 patients in Westchester and Fairfield counties ”” has also launched the Westmed Foundation, a nonprofit that has applied for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The Foundation”™s remit, Viceroy said, is to benefit charitable organizations that support wellness initiatives for children and young adults in the communities it serves, particularly in the mental wellness and healthy eating categories, via annual donations.
Input on how the Foundation should operate came from staff and patients alike, Viceroy said, “and several of our big vendors have expressed tremendous interest.”
Monies will be received through individual donations and some in-house events, he said, adding that such an approach ”” rather than holding a big money-raising gala ”” will better assure that “every dollar raised goes directly to the children.”
Viceroy said Westmed is also looking at enhancing its office specs to create better access, “so that patients can get in and see their physician in as timely a manner as they need.”
The group also initiated an “innovation task force” focused on the research and development of emerging technologies. Last year the team began focusing on Amazon Alexa Skill-Building, a tech platform that will use voice assistant skills to help patients use the My Westmed portal to complete tasks like checking wait times, booking an appointment or getting daily health tips. The portal itself, along with its mobile app, underwent significant upgrades last year, Viceroy said. More than 175,000 patients are listed as active users.
The group also relies on its Westmed Patient Advisory Panel, composed of past and present patients along with staff and executives, to discuss various challenges and concerns.
